


Forever on an Open Road

by dismalzelenka



Series: Bard Songs: A Songfic Collection [7]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hawke drives a Jeep Wrangler with no doors, Mage Rebellion, Song Lyrics, Songfic, i make no apologies for this absurd piece of headcanon, someone stole her doors when she parked overnight in darktown
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2019-03-03 21:30:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13349898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dismalzelenka/pseuds/dismalzelenka
Summary: The Chantry explodes into a pile of ash and rubble. Circles across the country face rebellion. In the midst of it all, Hawke and Anders find refuge in each other as they set out across the country and adjust to life on the run. A song fic series based on the album Feel.Love.Thinking.Of by Faunts.





	Forever on an Open Road

**Author's Note:**

  * For [delicate_mageflower](https://archiveofourown.org/users/delicate_mageflower/gifts).



> This is an idea that sprang to life during a conversation with [delicate_mageflower](http://archiveofourown.org/users/delicate_mageflower/pseuds/delicate_mageflower) when we discovered we both love [Faunts](https://fauntsmusic.bandcamp.com/) and decided it would be a perfect road trip soundtrack for our beloved OTP, Hawke and Sweet Feathery Doctor Mage Boy. 
> 
>  
> 
> **[Feel.Love.Thinking.Of.](https://fauntsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/feel-love-thinking-of) by Faunts**

“Marian, are you sure about this?”

Hawke swallowed through the lump in her throat. “Yes, love,” she said softly, pressing the cold metal of her wedding band against his face. “I’m with you. I said that a long time ago, remember?” She ran her fingers lightly against the stubble on his cheeks. “I still mean it. I’m with you to the end.”

He threw his arms around her and buried his face in her shoulder. She felt her shirt dampen as he shuddered with quiet sobs, tears streaming through the dust and dirt on his face. She could hear sirens in the distance, mixed with shouting and gunfire. The violence hadn’t quite reached her gated Hightown neighborhood yet, but the sounds were getting louder, and she knew they were now living on borrowed time. “Thank you,” she heard him whisper, so faintly she only caught it because of the way his lips moved against her shoulder. “I love you. I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Anders.” She squeezed him tightly one more time and untangled herself from his arms, gesturing to her beat up Jeep Wrangler parked on the street behind them. “Now buckle up. We have a long drive ahead of us.”

“Are you sure you can get through the blockades?” He looked at her worriedly, puffy eyes full of concern.

“Varric’s going to send me directions through that secure messaging app he made me download. We’re going to be fine, love.” 

He paused for a moment, then nodded and stepped up into her Jeep, gripping the bars as he swung himself into the seat. “I wish we had time to buy new doors.”

Hawke grimaced. “Me too,” she grumbled. She stepped on the clutch and turned the keys in the ignition, and the vehicle rumbled to life. Music played faintly from the speaker bar ahead of them, and she saw Anders smile when he heard the song. It was one of his favorite bands.

_We stood around the fire and sat all night on the roof. And you that I can’t leave and I will disagree with you._

She caught herself humming along as she threw the car into gear and started driving down the street, narrowed almost to a single car’s width due to the cars parked along the neat row of townhomes. It was both strange and amusing just how little she was going to miss this place, she realized. Catty neighbors, the local Homeowner’s Association breathing down her neck every time she forgot to mow her lawn and the grass grew a meager inch past what they deemed “acceptable,” the sour-faced woman next door whose yappy little chihuahua always managed to somehow burrow under the fence and leave piles of shit in her yard…no, there were some things she would miss about this grimy port city in Sarasota County, Florida, but the fancy neighborhood home she’d inherited from her mother would certainly not be one of them.

The left blinker clicked rhythmically as she shifted again and turned onto the main highway, and her thumb accidentally brushed against the “source” button on her steering wheel. “The death toll rises as more bodies are pulled from the rubble, and first responders are working tirelessly to find survivors,” the news blared. “Police are scouring the area for suspected terrorist Anders Hawke. We ask that anyone who sees the man in this photo dial our toll-free line at-”

Hawke pressed the button again, cycling through the modes until she reached the bluetooth mode connected to her phone’s Spotify playlist. Anders had gone even paler, and he was hugging his legs drawn up on the seat in front of him, his shoulders shaking with renewed sobs. She released the accelerator and eased down on the brake at the red light in front of them and gently tugged the hood of his sweatshirt over his hair. “You did what you had to, love,” she said, rubbing gentle circles on his back and sending soothing pulses of healing energy into his muscles. “There can be no peace. Not until people like us are free.”

“I know, but.” His voice was ragged. “I knew there would be collateral damage, but I didn’t think it would feel like this.”

The light turned green, and she shifted again and sped through the intersection. Her phone chimed.

 

 **Varric** ( _sent 9:37pm_ ): coming up on leary dr, pass it and turn left on broadway

 

“You’re a doctor, Anders. You took an oath when you got your license because you’re a compassionate person. Of course you would feel like this. That’s what makes you even braver for doing what you did. The sacrifices you made … mages will remember you for the rest of history.” She slowed at the stop sign and glanced at the street sign above it. _Leary Drive._ Satisfied that no one was coming through the intersection, she sped forward again, flicking her blinker before making a quick left turn. Her phone chimed again.

 

 **Varric** ( _sent 9:39pm_ ): right on 41, follow north

 

“Besides,” she added, “they were all devout Andrastians if they were in the Chantry this late without a service as an excuse. For all we know, they’re suckling at the Maker’s bosom as we speak. Really, you probably did them a favor.” She glanced at him again and saw him smile weakly in gratitude.

“Only you could make a two digit death toll sound like a good thing,” he said with a light laugh.

“You were right, love,” she reminded him again. “ _There can be no peace_. Definitely not with the way things were headed. If you had waited any longer, we could have ended up in the Gallows ourselves. Merrill too. Isabela would have ended up in prison for harboring apostates and smuggling them out of the city. Aveline would have been found out for turning a blind eye eventually, she’d lose her job and also probably end up in prison. Fenris would have been arrested and killed for helping Isabela probably. You know he asked her to marry him?”

Anders cracked a genuine smile at that. “It’s about time,” he laughed. “They’ve been all over each other for years now. Maker knows he’ll be happier on her ship than stuck here squatting in this city.”

Her phone chimed again, six times in succession.

 

 **Varric** ( _sent 9:42pm_ ): right on stickney pt, get on I-75 north  
**Varric** ( _sent 9:42pm_ ): no more blockades past osprey yet  
**Varric** ( _sent 9:43pm_ ): hurry tho  
**Varric** ( _sent 9:43pm_ ): theyre fanning out  
**Varric** ( _sent 9:43pm_ ): looking for you too now  
**Varric** ( _sent 9:43pm_ ): pls be careful they have your plate #

 

Anders picked up her phone and raised his eyebrows. “It must be killing him to type in shorthand like that.” She saw his expression turn into a frown as he read the last message. “Shit,” he whispered. “We need to get our plates changed somewhere.”

“Already on it,” Hawke said. “Varric has a friend in Georgia, outside of Quitman.” She swerved into a right turn onto Stickney Point and winced as their emergency bags slid across the floor behind her. “Sorry. Almost missed that one.” She shifted and sped up, hope fluttering in her chest when she saw the interstate signs unaccompanied by flashing blue lights. Anders put his hand on hers over the gear shift and squeezed gently.

“I love you.”

She smiled, lifting his hand to her lips and kissing each of his knuckles. “I love you too.”

They looked up at the sound bar when they both realized the song had been stuck on single repeat. She leaned over and kissed him tenderly on the forehead, and they started singing along.

_And this is how I feel now for my love and I can’t let go what I’m thinking of, and this is how I feel now for my love and I can’t let go what I’m thinking of._

The I-75 on ramp was visible now. Hawke took a deep breath. “Alright, love. Let’s do this,” she said softly. The jeep rumbled as she downshifted to turn, and as they swerved onto the highway she felt herself fill with a strange sort of anxious exhilaration. They didn’t even know their destination past “we have to get the fuck out of Kirkwall” but she was with her love, they were still free, and they had just sparked what could potentially turn into a country-wide revolution. A revolution for mages. For people like them.

She took the phone back from his hands as soon as they settled into a comfortable cruise on the interstate and opened her messages again.

 

 **Hawke** ( _sent 10:01pm_ ): made it to 75. thx for everything.  
**Varric** ( _sent 10:01pm_ ): anytime chuckles  
**Varric**   ( _sent 10:02pm_ ): be careful  
**Varric**   ( _sent 10:02pm_ ): love you

 

Hawke smiled as her thumb swiped a response.

 

 **Hawke** ( _sent 10:02pm_ ): love you too

 


End file.
